Research Note: An Assessment of Documentary / Bibliographic Resources Available for the Study of Corporate Control

The study of the structure of power in advanced capitalist society has a controversial history, particularly in relation to the question Who controls the largest industrial corporations in the United States? Any attempt to answer this question requires that the concept of control be operationalized and that the appropriate data be gathered. Given the problem of corporate secrecy, and perhaps an inherent distrust of sociologists, such an investigation does not lend itself well-to traditional data gathering techniques. Documentary/bibliographic research shows promise for such investigations, but few systematic statements have appeared in the literature showing where to find data and outlining what obstacles are likely to be encountered. The purpose here is to first, show the conceptually rich, but problematic, nature of the question of control itself; second, to identify and assess useful data sources for answering the question; and third, to outline certain advantages of such an approach